UE Boom 2 review: Audio excellence 2.0

The latest from Ultimate Ears is UE Boom 2, which is the
successor of UE Boom from last year. The UE Boom 2 shares everything
from design to price with its older sibling, but has improved
performance.

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Manish Sain

New Delhi

October 3, 2016

UPDATED: October 3, 2016 13:10 IST

8/10

In the last two years, India's Bluetooth audio device market has grown bigger with the entry of new players. This has forced older brands to improve and up the ante, even as companies like Bose and JBL have continued to keep the same gold standards that have allowed them to gain the market and mind share among the audiophiles.

But the Bose speakers are serious kind of purchase. Their high price means that even if you get the premium sound quality and features, you also have to spend a premium on them. There are no cheap Bose speakers. JBL has cheap speakers, but unfortunately they are in a different class, in a not so good way, when it comes to the sound quality.

But this is where the Ultimate Ears, a brand by Logitech, comes into the picture. Ultimate Ears has a number of Bluetooth speakers from low to mid-price range. But what is special about Ultimate Ears is that its speakers have almost perfect audio experience at all ranges.

The latest from Ultimate Ears is UE Boom 2, which is the successor of UE Boom from last year. The UE Boom 2 shares everything from design to price with its older sibling, but has improved performance. Or that is what Logitech claims. After using the speaker for a fair amount of time, I feel that claim is accurate. Priced at Rs 15,995, the UE Boom 2 is a steal. Almost.

Design and build quality

The UE Boom 2 looks exactly like the earlier speaker. Or in other words, it looks good. There is nothing over the top about the UE Boom 2's design and colour combination. It looks elegant and fun at the same time. It is not cheap. It is not loud, well, in design part. And that is good. This is the kind of speakers that you will like to keep in your chic drawing room and not feel bad about it.

The UE Boom 2 is a 360-degree speaker. The speaker grills are covered with a threaded fibre mesh and the vertical centre is covered with a soft rubber-like material. The rubber strip also houses all the controls. The top of the speaker has power and Bluetooth button. At the bottom you will find a 3.5mm audio jack and a microUSB charging port. Both the openings are covered with a flap, since the UE Boom 2 is waterproof. There is also a hook at the bottom, so you can hang it on your bag or your bicycle's handle if you plan an early morning trek or a picnic. It's just the right thing to take along for outings. Sadly the rubber material gets dirty after some time, but on the brighter side you can wash it off.

The strip also has volume buttons marked as big Plus and Minus signs. However, only a small portion of the volume signs work as buttons, rest is just for the show. While this may not seem to be an issue, it may irritate you at times when you are trying to turn the volume up or down. It would have made more sense to put a touch-sensitive panel underneath.

The UE Boom 2 is a sturdy speaker. There are no loose parts and no metallic parts on the outside, so no peeling paint either. The overall feeling that I get after using the UE Boom 2 is that if you decide to buy it, it will easily last you for at least two-three years or even more.

Performance

If you want to test the quality of a Bluetooth speaker you should play music on it at the top volume. This is when the audio cracks and music gets jarring. Actually, here at IndiaToday Tech we haven't yet tested a speaker that can deliver clean sound at top volume. But some do better than others. The UE Boom 2 is among the ones that do significantly better at this one task.

Overall, the UE Boom 2 is a decent performer, although it may also surprise you with its brilliance at times. Let's start with what's best on the UE Boom 2.

If you are into classics, Indian or otherwise, you will fall in love with this speaker instantly. The UE Boom 2 does a splendid work with old Hindi songs, Carnatic, and even classics from Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner.

Next comes the usual Indian music, mostly Bollywood. The UE Boom 2 will not disappoint you here. It produces decent bass with thumping numbers, on the other hand treble has been a forte for the Boom speakers, this one and the earlier one as well. It handles treble beautifully without trying to kill the bass. So if you are planning to play some new-age Hindi numbers, you will like the overall experience.

The same goes for Rock and Progressive Rock. The UE Boom 2 performs well with lower notes and high-pitched alike. However, at a higher volume it may distort a little but not so much to leave sour notes in the air.

If you are into classics, Indian or otherwise, you will fall in love with this speaker instantly. The UE Boom 2 does a splendid work with old Hindi songs

Just like other Bluetooth speakers this one also has trouble dealing with Metal. Its predecessor, the UE Boom, performed decently with Metal at mid volume levels, this one however doesn't. Listening to Megadeth and Opeth felt annoying, vocals and instruments felt flattened even at lower volumes. So no Metal for you, UE Boom 2.

As I noted earlier, the UE Boom 2 can produce satisfactory bass when required. That brings me to Hip-Hop and EDM. You will not exactly be disappointed but there is nothing to feel elated about with this kind of music on the UE Boom 2. It produces just above average sound with these genres. It also depends on what kind of a listener you are. For an average listener, this will do the job.

I also faced a strange issue with the UE Boom 2, which is most likely to be a software issue. The speaker mutes at times, for no visible reasons, even when the song is playing on the connected phone. Replaying the song solved the issue at times although on some occasions fixing it required closing and restarting the player app.

Ultimate Ears says that the UE Boom 2 is 25 per cent louder than the previous Boom speaker. Now, there are no decibel figures here but during the use it sure can get loud enough to fill a big room, a hall so to speak, with audio. If you are having terrace party, the UE Boom 2 will do the job fine.

The UE Boom 2 also comes with an associated app for iOS and Android. The app adds a few more features to the speaker like equaliser and alarm.

To conclude, I can say the UE Boom 2 is an all-rounder for most users, that is if you are not a Metalhead. The speaker offers loud, controlled music, which is a good thing.

Should you buy it

If you are looking for a Bluetooth speaker which has a style statement of its own and also delivers good performance across various genres, the UE Boom 2 is a good choice. Yes, it is a little pricey but considering its feature set and performance, it has a fair price.

It has some competitors like the JBL Pulse 2 and Bose SoundLink Mini II. But the Pulse has a more in-your-face design. The Bose one sports a heavy price tag. Performance-wise you'll get somewhat better audio experience with the Bose speakers, but then the premium you have to pay is about Rs 5,000. Is it worth it? Depends on the kind of ears you have.

The UE Boom 2 is perfect for solo listening, in a small party, or even on a picnic. As noted earlier, it's an all-rounder for most people, although audiophiles with specific tastes and heftier wallet can look for a few more premium options.

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UE Boom 2####8/10

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Good stuff

Elegant and fun design

Performance ranging from Good to great

Waterproof

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Bad stuff

Some software bugs

Poor with Metal

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